Moving On

As I sit here this Sunday morning, coming off a week's vacation and heading back to the office tomorrow, I count the number of days left to work:  54 calendar days, 8 full weeks.  I could probably get it down to the hours if I wanted to, but I am trying my hardest not to "wish my life away!"  (My Mother used to always say, "You're going to wish your life away" whenever I'd hope for some day in the future to come).  Confident that I am making the correct decision, I still occasionally get that uneasy feeling in my gut! 

My biggest concern is what I will do with the rest of my life!  I usually respond with, "Anything I want!"  I am still young, relatively speaking, and fortunately, in good physical shape.  I have no plans to just sit around and do nothing.  Although I am "retiring" from State government, I am not "retiring" in the true sense of the word.  Firstly, I do realize I'd go nuts with absolutely nothing to do.  No routine structure in my life would become boring.  I will do absolutely nothing the first month or two, but then, I will need to find something.  Secondly, I do believe I have yet more to offer society, in some form or another.

Last weekend was spent in NYC.  Love it in NYC!  The weekend in the City is pretty quiet, but on Friday and Monday, I got to see the "everyday" life of the people.  I watched construction workers doing their thing, watched the "suits" early Monday morning making their way to work, and from the hotel window I could see the hustle and bustle in the streets below.  And was I watched, the "What's-It-All-About" question kept creeping in my mind.  I know there are lots of answers that are given to that question, but seriously, "What's it all about?"  Day in, and day out, we go about our daily routine, rushing off to do a job, and for what?  For some, work entails performing a service for others.  For others, work involves having a service performed for them while they "create" things.  But in the end, "What's it all about?"  We live, we struggle to get more and keep it, we die!  That's how it's been since the beginning of time.  In olden days, men got more land and power, others tried to take it, men defended what was theirs, and then they died!  People build fancy houses, only to have them destroyed by fire, natural disaster, etc., then rebuild or move to a new place, only to try again to keep what they have built. 

After watching this, I realize I don't just want my next years to just be a "job."  I want to do something that adds to the life of someone else.  I want to make a difference.  Because maybe, just maybe, that's what it's all about: people helping people while we exist! 

Still doesn't really answer that question, "what's it all about," but, as I like to say, "It is what it is!"  We're here for hopefully 70, 80, 90 years.  I want to make the most of my next 30 to 40!